Nathan (Nate to his friends) is an exchange student from the University of California at Santa Cruz. He is studying archaeology and history of art and Bilkent News interviewed him to find out why he did come here.

Nathan says that he fell in love with the history of art. When he was at age 18, he saw photos of Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia) and since then has always been interested in Turkey. His interest in Turkey led him to do some research. For a university project, he prepared a 35-page paper on the history of architecture in Ankara. "For my undergraduate paper, I studied how Kemalism literally shaped the architecture of Ankara. How nothing was given form into something," says Nathan.

So, coming to Bilkent was not exactly a new territory for him. "I was particularly excited to come to Ankara and see the street corners and buildings that I had observed in books while doing my research", says Nathan. "Turkey is a wonderful place. It's very different and very wonderful. I saw the magnificent dome of Ayasofya with my own eyes just two weeks ago and it rekindled my passion for architecture."

What about Bilkent? "The university is very nice and well-organized and the professors are wonderful, personable people,", says Nathan. "And what I particularly notice about Turkey is the great abundance of friendly and accessible people. Hospitality is a feature of Turkey more than almost anywhere else."